me wrong,” he said, trying to save the moment. “I don’t mind it. I guess it’s nice to know where I stand. It makes it a little easier to know you’re not playing games with me.”
“See! That’s what I always say! Don’t you just get frustrated with people who let you go on thinking one thing while they’re on a completely different page, especially with relationships?”
“Uh, yeah. Especially with relationships. Tell me about it.”
“Oh, that’s right. You almost married that last girlfriend of yours.”
“Oh yeah, thanks for bringing that up, Joy.”
“Sorry. There I go again, being forward.”
“Joking,” he laughed. “And in hindsight, I did almost marry her… but I don’t think she was very close to marrying me.”
“Shocking insight. Maybe this is a little blunt as well, but it’s probably for the best in the end. You’ll see. You’ll find your match.”
Ollie’s smile faded slowly with that. That’s an odd thing for her to say. It’s like she’s exempting herself from that list of potential matches. Still, he thought he knew something she didn’t, and the weaker part of him wanted to just come on out and tell her he’d found his match, that all she had to do was open her eyes to it as well. But the stronger part of him knew that would definitely be too blunt, whether she preferred transparency or not.
In any case, all of him was excited for Friday. They’d jump into the car and drive to the circus, on their first date. Still though. Why would she say that?
Chapter 12
The remainder of the week passed slowly for Ollie, but it wasn’t completely unbearable. He would walk the same general route to class each morning as he always had, and some things would get him to thinking about Anne while others would set his mind on a certain someone else. The big difference was that now he left an hour earlier so he could accompany her while she ascended the hill to class. He sat where he always had in history, only one row ahead, next to someone with curly brown hair. He spent a few hours a day studying like he always had when he was dating Anne, but this time it was because he was waiting on campus for someone to get off work so he could walk her home. Evenings were spent over dinner at that someone’s house because she loved to cook and he loved to eat.
His life went on exactly the same as before, only now it was completely different.
It felt nice to stand in old familiar corners and walk on top of the same sidewalks with a pretty new face, a fun new companion who seemed to enjoy his company as much as he enjoyed hers. Anne’s ghost still haunted the campus wherever he went, but she was now smaller than before.
One place he’d never taken Anne was the circus.
“You’re taking her to the circus tonight?” Keith asked.
“Yeah, but it’s not really a date,” Ollie said. “Technically I’ll be at work the whole time.”
“Dude, whatever,” Keith said. “You invited her, you’re paying her way. It’s a date. It doesn’t matter if others are going or if you’re on the clock.”
“All right, then, it’s a date. I’m not shy about it. It’s just not one-on-one like a real date.”
“You mean it won’t be a one-on-one situation, just like every other night you guys have spent together this week?” Keith asked, pumping his eyebrows up and down. “I thought you’d be sitting around moping and crying for months after the way you reacted to Anne giving you the boot, but you know what? I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks,” Ollie said. “You know, you should come too.”
Keith made a face. “No can do, pard. D and I are gonna watch a movie with the girls in Ivy House down the street. If you’re looking for more bodies, though, I bet Richie’s not doing anything.”
“I heard that!” Richie’s voice echoed from around the corner.
“You were supposed to hear it,” Keith yelled back. “Get off your butt and go do something social. It’s Friday night.”
“I do social stuff,” Richie said. “I do social stuff all the time.” He came ambling into the room.
“Oh yeah?” Keith said. “When was the last time you took a girl out? And your sister doesn’t count.”
“Ha ha ha. I asked a girl out last weekend, smart guy,” Richie said. “It’s not my fault she shot me down.”
“Anne doesn’t count.” Keith said.
“Of course she counts. Why wouldn’t she count?” Richie